Polyesters from dicyclohexyladipic acid, copolymers thereof, and process of making same



United states atent Ofiice POLYESTERS FROM DICYCLOHEXYLADIPIC ACID, COlPOLYMERS THEREOF, AND PROC- ESS OF MAKING SAME Harry Greenherg and Raymond W. Horst, Cincinnati, Uhio, assignors to National Distillers and Chemical (Iorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Virginia N Drawing. Application lune 15, 1955 Serial No. 515,792

12 Claims. (Ql. 260-454) The present invention'relates broadly to a novel class of synthetic ester products and a process for their preparation and, more particularly, to a novel class of polyester compositions. Still more particularly, it relates to polyesters which are further modified with other organic materials to yield highly useful derivatives thereof.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel class of ester products useful as plasticizers and softening agents for high molecular weight organic materials, including vinyl resins.

vIt is another object of this invention to provide a novel class of .ester products and derivatives thereof having highly useful properties and of value in the field of synthetic rubbers, resins, synthetic fibers, lubricants, and others.

Still anotherobject of this invention is to provide novel ester products and certain derivatives thereof in which the ester component is prepared .by use of an acidic reactant believed to be novel for use in preparation of ester products. Still other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description thereof as set forth hereinafter.

In general aspect, the invention relates toester products comprising an ester component derived from a dicyclohexyladipic acid with a specific illustration thereof being u,a-dicyclohexylad ipic acid. Generally, ester products as embodied herein may be prepared by subjecting ,a glycol and an acidic reactant comprising a dicyclohexyladipic acid as aforesaid to esterification reaction conditions with elimination .of water formed by the esterification reaction.

As a result of the type and amounts of reactants employed in their formation, the polyesters as embodied herein may contain active terminal groups which are either carboxyl or hydroxyl groups depending upon whether an acid or a glycol was the last compound to react in the formation of the molecule. The esters described herein may then be lengthened by controlled reaction between such active terminal groups and other reagents. Generally, the polyester is lengthened further by reaction between such hydrogen-bearing terminal groups and a bifunctional material which is reactive therewith, as for example, an organic diisocyanate. The resulting formation of linkages between the diisocyanate groups and the terminal groups of the polyester produce a chain extended polymer. In instances wherein there is a terminal 'hydroxyl group, reaction with the diisocyanate results in a urethane linkage whereas, in the case of terminal carboxyl groups, the resulting linkage is amidic. in either case, the urethane linkage and amide linkage have available hydrogen atoms for reaction with an additional bifunctional material, such as a diisocyanate and, by reaction of the available hydrogen atoms therewith, it is possible to cross-link the chain extended polymer at various points along its chain.

The degree and state of polymerization of the poly- Patented July 22, 1958 esters prepared as embodied herein may be conveniently determined by analysis for the average number of carboxyl and hydroxyl 1 groups in a given amount of the polyester. The acid number is a measure of-the number of terminal carboxyl groups, and the 'hydroxyl number is a measure of the numberof terminal hydroxyl groups. The sum of the carboxyl and hydroxyl numbers indicates the reactive number, i. e., the average number of reactive terminal groups present in the polyester product which, in turn, is an indication vvof the degree of polymerization.

If the ester products embodied herein are to be converted into diisocyanate modified products, the polyesters must be substantially anhydrous. This .can be accomplished by heating or by introduction of inert gases or some inert drying agent. The polyesters preferred for further reaction, suchas with diisocyanates, should have a reactive number of up to about and, preferably, from about 40 to about '60. ,For converting the polyesters into the diisocyanate modified products, the diisocyanates are preferably used in excess over the polyester terminal hydroxyl groups in the polyesters. Generally, an excess of 20 to 100% is adequate. Any of a variety of diisocyanates .may be used, including both aliphatic types such as hexamethylene diisocyanate, .octamethylene diisocyanate, and .decamethylene diisocyanate, and aromatic .types such as naphthalene-1,S-diisocyanate, 4,4- diphenyl diisocyanate, 4,4-diphenylene ,methane diisocyanate, dianisidine diisocyanate, 4,.4 -tolidine diisocyanate, 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanate, 4,4'-.diphenyl ether diisocyanate, p-phenylene diisocyanate, and others.

Also embodied herein are .the polyesters modified with diisocyanates as aforedescribed and further modified by interaction with other additives, particularly bifunctional organic materials. It is possible to react such further modifying materials either simultaneously .with, or subse quent to, the reaction between the polyesters and diisocyanates. Such other bifunctional additives may be of the types that contain two groupseach having an active available hydrogen. The bivalent radical to which they are attached can be either aliphatic or aromatic. Compounds which are useful for such a purpose include diamines, -dib,asic carboxylicacids, amino acids, hydroxyl acids, and amino alcohols, as well as certain ureas and substituted vureas. Diaminesand diacids have been found to be particularly suitable for such usage. Such further modification of the diisocyanate-modified polyesters results in further cross-linking of the macromolecules and formationof a rubber-likelstateas, in general, the amount of bifunctional additives-employed is less than, or equal to, the amount equivalent to the excess of isocyanate groups in the polymers.

Diisocyanate modified polyest rs as embodied herein may be prepared as elastomeric products, as tough resins, infusible resins, and the like, depending on the particular reactants employed. As to the elastomeric products, they may be used in cured or uncured state for many requirements wherein elasticity, resistance to chemicals, resistance to swelling, etc,is desired.

In preparation of the novel ester products embodied herein, any of a wide variety of glycols may be employed, including saturated and unsaturated aliphatic glycols that may range over a wide range of carbon atom content. Thus, glycols useful for practice of the invention include ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, octamethylene glycol, dodecamethylene glycol, 2-ethyl- 1,8-.octanediol, S-ethyl- 1,10-decanediol, 3,6-diethyl-l,8-octanediol, 4,7-diethyl- 2,9-decanediol, 3,13-tetradecanediol', and others.

As aforesaid, an important aspect of the invention is the use, for ester formation with the glycol, of an acidic reactant comprising a dicyclohexyladipic acid. Thus, as

embodied herein, the polyesters are characterized by contaming a unit of the following structure wherein R is the hydrocarbon portion of a dicyclohexyladipic acid and A is the hydrocarbon portion of a glycol. More specifically, the esters embodied herein contain a unit of the following structure wherein A is the hydrocarbon portion of a glycol.

The dicyclohexyladipic acid may be used as the sole acidic reactant for ester formation with the glycol or mixtures of glycols or, as is illustrated hereinafter, the acidic reactant may comprise, in addition to a dicyclohexyladipic acid, another acid or mixture of acids, whereby the result- ,ing ester product comprises a copolyester of said dicyclohexyladipic acid and said other acid. For such usage, the other acid may be any of a wide variety of dibasic acids, or their anhydrides, including succinic acid, adipic acid, methyladipic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, malic acid, dihydromuconic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, suberic acid, phthalic acid, terephthalic acid, and others. For preparation of unsaturated ester products, maleic anhydride is particularly suitable as a component of the acidic reactant comprising a dicyclohexyladipic acid.

Additionally, monobasic acids may be included in the acidic reactant in certain instances and, particularly as chain stopping agents when it is desired to control the extent of polymerization of the polyesters formed by esterification reaction between a suitable glycol and an acidic reactant comprising a dicyclohexyladipic acid as aforedescribed. For such a purpose, suitable acids include acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valen'c acid, pelargonic acid, and higher monocarboxylic acids.

In preparation of the products embodied herein, mixtures of various of the glycols and acids, in addition to the essential dicyclohexyladipic acid component, can also be used, the resulting products being mixed polyesters.

The condensation of the glycols with the acidic reactant may be accomplished by heating the reactants, preferably at l250 C., or higher, with or without a reaction diluent. Use of a slight excess of glycol is preferred to insure that little or no acidic component remains in the final ester product. For relatively non-acidic products, the terminal groups will be predominantly alcoholic hydroxyl groups. During the reaction, the water by-product that is formed should be removed from the reacting mixture by distillation in order to insure completion of the esterification reaction.

In the preparation of ester products as embodied herein, and in which, unsaturation exists due to use of an unsaturated glycol, or unsaturated acid, or both, the unsaturated ester product may be dissolved in styrene or other suitable vinyl aromatic compound which serves as a solvent as well as a reactant. By dissolving the unsaturated ester product in a vinyl aromatic such as styrene, diallylphthalate, triallyl cyanurate, and the like, handling of the ester product is facilitated while, at the same time, providing a composition that is curable to highly desirable properties whereby they are useful as structural materials, as low temperature molding or embedding (potting") materials, for preparation of glass fiber reinforced products such as translucent sheets, panels, etc., boat hulls, fishing rods, and the like.

In the polymerization of unsaturated polyester-styrene mixtures to fully cured materials, a catalyst is generally:

employed. Useful therefor are free radical initiators such as peroxides and azo compounds. Many compounds of the peroxide type are available for such a purpose and choice of a particular peroxide depends upon several factors. The acyl peroxides such as benzoyl peroxide can 'be used as well as aldehyde or ketone, for example, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide or cyclohexanone peroxide. Cumene peroxide is also useful as a catalyst. It has been found to be convenient to disperse the peroxide catalyst into inert liquids such as dimethyl phthalate or tricresyl phosphate before addition to the unsaturated polyesters. The amount of catalyst that will produce satisfactorily cured resins having optimum characteristics depends on many factors, including the type of resin, desired speed of cure, etc. In general from 0.1 to 2.0% of peroxide is sufiicient, although somewhat higher concentrations are usually required for thin laminates. For the polymerization, suitable promoters and activators may be used to alter the so-called induction period, i. e., the time required for the resin to become fully cured. Cobalt naphthenate is typical of such an activator although certain amines may be used for such a purpose.

In order to illustrate the invention, the following specific embodiments are set forth in which all parts are expressed by weight. It is not intended, however, to limit the invention specifically to the products and processes of these examples.

Example I Dicyclohexyladipic acid (310 parts) and maleic anhydride (98 parts) were heated in mixture with diethylene glycol (116.6 parts) in a three-neck flask fitted with thermometer, stirrer, CO sparger, distillation head, and condenser. By-product water began to distill off at about 170' C. and the temperature was raised to 248 C. over a period of 7 hours during which polymerization occurred to produce an end product having an acid number of 47.3. The product was a thick, colorless syrupy copolyester, soluble in alcohol and acetone, which was suitable for use as a non-migratory plasticizer for vinyl chloride resins.

Example II The copolyester (100 parts) of Example I was blended with styrene (42.8 parts) to provide a varnish which was stable at room temperature for a period of at least six months.

By addition of benzoyl peroxide (1 part per 100 parts of the blend), and curing of the resulting mixture at C. for 10 minutes, a resinous material was produced. Activation of the benzoyl peroxide (catalyst) with trace quantities of cobalt naphthenate, or by use of more active aldehyde or ketone peroxides (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide), room temperature curing in several hours occurred to produce a hard, almost colorless, infusible resin.

Example Ill The copolyester (500 parts) of Example I was blended at 60 C. with 1,8-octamethylene diisocyanate (60 parts). The blend was cured at C. for 24 hours whereby a tough, pliable resin was produced.

Example IV Example V A mixture of a,u'-dicyclohexyladipic acid G mol) and ethylene glycol mol) was heated, in an atmosphere of nitrogen, for one hour at 200 C., following which the temperature was raised to 260 C., and the pressure reduced to 100 mm. Hg. The mixture was mamtained under such conditions for 24 hours, at the end of which time a high molecular weight polyester was obtained that possessed fiber-fcrrning properties.

The dicyclohexyladipic acid utilized in the foregoing illustrative embodiments was prepared by mixing 1- diphenyladipic acid (neutralization equivalent 149.2) with glacial acetic acid and hydrogenating the mixture, in pres ence of a hydrogenation catalyst (palladium on carbon) in an amount of 3% by weight of the diphenyladipic acid at 15002000 p. s. i. pressure and 150 C. for six hours. The amount of hydrogen consumed was substantially equivalent to that theoretically required to convert the diphenyladipic acid to dicyclohexyladipic acid. Following the hydrogenation, the resulting mixture was filtered to remove the catalyst, and the filtrate was distilled to remove the acetic acid whereby a white crystalline product (dicyclohexyladipic acid) having a neutralization equivalent of 155.2 was produced.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that the use of an acidic reactant comprising a dicyclohexyladipic acid as aforedescribed for esterification reaction with a suitable glycol provides an extremely flexible means for preparation of ester products designed for a particular use or for any of many diiferent purposes. For example, as set forth in Example I, a copolyester was prepared that possessed properties suitable for its use as a non-migratory plasticizer for vinyl chloride resins; as set forth in Example II, products of the copolyesters reacted with styrene produced infusible resins; as set forth in Example III, modification of the copolyester with a diisocyanate produced a tough, pliable resin; and, as shown by the remaining illustrative embodiments, a polyester based on use of dicyclohexyladipic acid was prepared that was fiber-forming and, in another case, the polyester was a rubbery material that possessed excellent adhesive properties. Thus, and as aforediscussed, the use of a dicyclohexyladipic acid for polyester and copolyester preparation, provides a means for preparation of products specially designed for uses wherein materials are desired for plasticizing high molecular weight materials, such as vinyl chlorides; for uses wherein elastomeric materials are desired that are chemically inert and resistant to swelling; for uses wherein tough infusible resins are desired; and for uses wherein the desired materials should possess fiberforming characteristics, adhesive characteristics, and others.

While there are above disclosed but a limited number of embodiments of the invention herein presented, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed, and it is desired therefore that only such limitations be imposed on the appended claims as are stated therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A polyester containing units of the following structure wherein A is the hydrocarbon portion of a glycol and R is the hydrocarbon portion of a dicarboxylic acid, and

6 further characterized by containing a unit of the foregoing structure in which R is the hydrocarbon portion of u,a'-dicyclohexyladipic acid.

2. A polyester condensation product of an organic glycol and an organic dicarboxylic acid comprising one/- dicyclohexyladipic acid.

3. An organic diisocyanate modified polyester condensation product of an organic glycol and an organic dicarboxylic acid comprising a,a-dicyclohexyladipic acid, said polyester being characterized by being chain extended by reaction of its terminal hydrogen-bearing groups with an organic diisocyanate.

4. An isocyanate modified polyester condensation product, as defined in claim 3, cross-linked by reaction with, in an amount substantially equivalent to the excess isocyanate groups in said condensation product, an organic compound selected from the group consisting of diamines, dibasic carboxylic acids, amino acids, hydroxyl acids, amino alcohols, and urea.

5. An unsaturated copolyester of an organic aliphatic glycol and a dicarboxylic acid mixture of an aliphaticallyunsaturated organic dicarboxylic acid and a,a'-dicyclohexyladipic acid.

6. A polymerizable composition consisting substantially of an unsaturated copolyester, as defined in claim 5, dissolved in a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon, that is a solvent forand is polymerizable with said copolyester, in an amount sufficient to provide a composition polymerizable to a cured resin.

7. A polymerizable composition, as defined in claim 6, wherein the vinyl aromatic compound is styrene.

8. An unsaturated copolyester of an organic glycol and a mixture comprising maleic anhydride and a,oc'-diCyClO- hexyladipic acid.

9. A composition comprising an unsaturated copolyester, as defined in claim 8, polymerized with styrene.

10. A process which comprises condensing a glycol with a dicarboxylic acid while removing water from said condensation reaction to produce polyesters of said glycol and acid, said dicarboxylic acid comprising u,oc'-diCyClO- hexyladipic acid, and said condensation being carried out using an excess amount of said glycol.

11. A process, as defined in claim 10, wherein the hydrogen-bearing terminal groups of the polyester are reacted with an excess amount of an organic diisocyanate to produce a diisocyanate modified chain extended product of said polyester.

12. A process which comprises condensing a glycol with a mixture of an aliphatically-unsaturated organic dibasic acid and a,a'-dicyclohexyladipic acid to produce an unsaturated copolyester of said glycol, unsaturated acid, and u,e-dicyclohexyladipic acid, said condensation being carried out using an excess amount of said glycol.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,255,313 Ellis Sept. 9, 1941 2,533,455 Hagemeyer Dec. 12, 1950 2,625,532 Seeger Ian. 13, 1953 

1. A POLYESTER CONTAINING UNITS OF THE FOLLOWING STRUCTURE 